The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes bulk freighter, notable for being the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes when launched in 1958. Constructed by Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW) in River Rouge, Michigan, she was designed to be just within the size limits of the then-upcoming Saint Lawrence Seaway, measuring approximately 729 feet in length with a beam of 75 feet and a molded depth of 39 feet. Her hull was welded, a relatively new construction method at the time, and she had a deadweight capacity of about 26,000 long tons. The vessel featured three central cargo holds accessed via 21 watertight hatches, each 11 by 48 feet, with steel hatch covers 5/16-inch thick. Originally coal-fired, her boilers were later converted to burn oil, and her maneuverability was enhanced with a diesel-powered bow thruster installed in 1969. The Fitzgerald's interior was notably luxurious for a workhorse vessel, with deep-pile carpeting, tiled bathrooms, leather chairs, and air conditioning, catering to both crew and passenger guests. She was operated by Oglebay Norton Corporation under a 25-year contract and became a highly regarded vessel, setting multiple seasonal haul records, often breaking her own. Captain Peter Pulcer was known for entertaining with music over the intercom, earning her a reputation among boat watchers. Her service primarily involved transporting taconite pellets from Minnesota's Iron Range to steel mills in Detroit, Toledo, and other ports, completing over 748 round trips and covering more than a million miles. On her final voyage, departing Superior, Wisconsin, on November 9, 1975, under Captain Ernest McSorley, she faced severe storm conditions on Lake Superior. Despite reports of taking on water and developing a list, she sank suddenly on November 10 in Canadian waters near Whitefish Bay, with all 29 crew members lost and no bodies recovered. The wreck, located in 530 feet of water by the U.S. Navy in November 1975, lies in two large pieces—her bow upright and stern at a 50-degree angle—spread over a short distance on the lake floor. Her sinking remains a significant maritime tragedy, inspiring songs, memorials, and ongoing investigations into the causes, including hypotheses of structural failure, hull breach, or shoaling hazards. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald is memorialized as one of the most famous shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, symbolizing both the power of nature and the perils of inland maritime commerce.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.